Poll: Majority Of Registered Voters Favor Expansion Of Legalized Sports Betting

A majority of registered voters (51%) favor legalized sports betting in states where it is not currently legal, according to results from a national survey conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.’s PublicMind Poll. The survey was conducted over the phone from Dec. 10-16 among 814 registered voters. Overall results from the poll are up significantly from the March ’10 version conducted by PublicMind, which found that only 39% supported the expansion of sports betting. The poll also found that 20% of U.S. men admit to betting on sports, and that they are the group most likely to support expanding legal sports betting. Those age 60+ were the only age category that showed less than a majority support for more legalized sports gambling (40%). However, that figure is up for the 60+ demo compared to the ’10 poll (27%). Only 27% of those polled said they would favor allowing states to run betting games online (Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.).

SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALLOW SOME NEW STATES TO HAVE SPORTS BETTING?
OPINION	ALL	MALE	FEMALE	18-29	30-44	45-59	60+
Allow	51%	60%	43%	62%	61%	52%	40%
Do not allow	33%	29%	37%	26%	26%	35%	41%
Neither	4%	4%	4%	3%	2%	4%	6%
Unsure	11%	5%	16%	10%	10%	10%	12%
Refused	1%	1%	n/a	n/a	1%	n/a	2%